Summer Highlights and Fall Delights
BY JULIE AMATO
It’s September, and the first White-crowned Sparrow of winter has just turned up at our backyard feeders, a young bird foraging in the shade of a tree. What a surprise! In the last two years, I first noticed White-crowns in our yard in November, although I’d seen them in parks before then. Was I so busy before that I failed to spot them in the yard earlier in the fall? Have they been pushed south sooner by the wildfires up and down the coast? Or is it merely random? Regardless, the arrival of this lovely bird is a delightful harbinger of the changing seasons.
Summer highlights in the yard
But first, summer, the season that’s just coming to a close.
It’s been a busy summer in our yard. A band of streaky young House Finches has dominated our feeders, foraging together and generally making a lot of noise. Loud squabbles break out from time to time, as they jockey for position at the feeders, but these are short-lived, and the teenage birds seem to enjoy hanging out together and splashing around in the “pool” (aka the bird bath). Quieter, but also numerous, are a group of young Dark-eyed Juncos that frequent the yard, especially at the beginning and end of the day, and forage on the ground. Occasionally one gives chase to the other, making a distinctive call that sounds like a laser beam from a sci-fi movie, and the white edges of their tails flash through the dark canopy of the trees.
Chestnut-backed Chickadees, usually one or two at the most, are also regular feeder visitors. One morning, I watched one take a leaf bath in a tree, rubbing against leaves speckled with dew drops, then shaking its feathers dry. A male and female White-breasted Nuthatch (the former with a black crown, the latter with a gray one) also stop by nearly every day. When I see one of them hopping down the trunk of a tree, upside down, approaching a feeder and making soft chirps (the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes this sound as a “yink”), I know that I can add a second nuthatch to my yard count - I’ve learned that the chirps are contact calls. Sure enough, another nuthatch almost always appears in short order.
Young Cooper’s Hawk in our yard (Photo: Julie Amato)
A young Cooper’s Hawk has been practicing its hunting skills in our yard. In the late afternoon, it swoops in, making an awkward pass at one of our feeders, then perching in a tree. It is neither fast enough nor agile enough to nab a songbird - this is not entirely its fault, as it’s impossible to gain much momentum in our yard, which is full of obstacles like fences, trees, and bushes. This does not mean that the hawk doesn’t give our local songbirds quite a fright. Each time it shows up, they flee in terror, calling out and dispersing in all directions - or nearly all of them do. One afternoon I watched and listened as an Oak Titmouse, perched safely above the hawk in an impenetrable tangle of small branches, sounded an alarm call for nearly twenty minutes. The hawk was impressively patient, seemingly willing to wait out the titmouse and resume hunting, yet it lacked the element of surprise and eventually gave up. I have not seen it catch anything yet, but it has returned week after week and I can only assume that it’s finding food somewhere else in the neighborhood - or in my yard when I’m not looking.
Black-headed Grosbeak at our feeders (Photo: Francesco Meschia)
The summer’s biggest surprise was the arrival of a new-to-our-yard bird at the end of July, what I first thought, with a distracted glance, was a very large House Finch. I did a double-take when an actual House Finch turned up and was clearly about half the size of the Very Big Finch. The big bird had black and white stripes on its face, a pale orange breast streaked with brown, and a hefty bill that was crushing our unshelled sunflower seeds at an impressive rate. I did my research and was delighted to discover that our unusual visitor was a Black-headed Grosbeak, either an immature or an adult female bird. She visited us two days in a row, planting herself squarely in the middle of our platform feeder and working her way through our seed offerings, and we have not seen her since. Was she on her way south for the winter? We wish her well on her journey.
What to look and listen for now
As we head into October, the first full month of fall, I’ll be looking for signs that my juvenile visitors are growing up, changing their young-bird feathers for more adult ones, and generally watching for the completion of the molting process and the emergence of the feathers that our neighborhood birds will sport through the winter.
Male Brown-headed Cowbird in molt (Photo: Francesco Meschia)
Many birds are molting now, shedding their juvenile feathers for adult ones, or simply replacing old with new. Red patches are beginning to show on some of the teenage House Finches, marking them as males. The other day, a young male Brown-headed Cowbird showed up, sporting a patchwork mix of colored feathers that will eventually sort themselves out into brown on the head and black everywhere else.
Starting on October 1, I’ll also keep my eyes peeled for the return of Yellow-rumped Warblers, faithful winter residents of the Bay Area, with their buttery bright rump and throat patches and their squeaky calls. They rarely come to my feeders, but they flit through the trees in my yard nearly every day in the fall and winter. Why will I start looking for them on the first of the month? Because according to my records, during the past two years, they first showed up in my yard on October 3 (2019) and October 2 (2018). I’m documenting a new yard this year, so it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, but still, I could set my watch by them.
(After writing the above paragraph, I have learned that migrating songbirds are dying by the hundreds of thousands, even millions, in the West this fall, and warblers are among the birds that have been affected. Wildfires may be part of the problem, but there are probably other ecological factors too. This saddens me, and I will greet each warbler that passes through my yard with gratitude and joy.)
Last October, a Red-breasted Sapsucker showed up in my yard several times, and towards the end of the month, I had my first sighting of a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I’m eager to find out if I’ll see them again this month, or perhaps some other winter residents, arriving a bit early for their stay in our valley.
Getting into backyard birding
Whether you’re new to backyard birding or not, a wonderful way to get to know your yard birds is to simply spend a little time with them every day (and you don’t need a yard to enjoy the pastime - any place with a view will do). Sit comfortably, inside or outside, and watch and listen for ten or fifteen minutes. Don’t worry about figuring out exactly what species you’re observing - just experience the moment, allowing the birds’ looks, calls, and behavior to spark your curiosity and affection. The best way to learn something about birds - and to have fun while doing so! - is to make a habit of spending time with them. Trust that you’ll gradually answer your questions, while developing a connection with nature that will enrich your life.
What birds are in your yard?
What are you seeing and hearing in your yard this October? All observations are good - species ID’s aren’t necessary! (In fact, we can help with that.) Drop us a note or send a photo or sound clip to backyardbirds@scvas.org. We’ll share a sample of submittals on our website.
More resources
To learn more about backyard bird species, see our list of common backyard birds in Santa Clara County and read all about our backyard bird of the month!
Julie’s September yard bird list
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Cooper’s Hawk
Black Phoebe
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick’s Wren
Northern Mockingbird
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Brown-headed Cowbird
Banner photo credit: House Finch by Carter Gasiorowski